As another Holiday Season commences, our attention is again drawn to the many interpretations surrounding the “freedom of religion” extended to all Americans in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Each year, the many opinions surrounding the interpretation of this statement seem to multiply. I was specifically drawn to this topic because of an Associated Press article I stumbled across recently (http://www.mail.com/news/us/909150-atheist-messages-displace-park-nativity-scenes.html#.7518-stage-hero1-6). The article highlighted Santa Monica, California. Apparently in Santa Monica, there is a series of several areas designated for various Holiday displays designed to adequately showcase the displays while keeping them safe from vandalism and the elements. This year in particular, the city received so many bids for the areas that they decided to use a lottery system to assign the spaces. I agree with city halls decision to use this system to assign the plots. I feel that the lottery was a fair, and that the results were based fully on chance. The article states that 18 of the available 21 spaces went to members of various atheist groups, two spaces were allotted to a coalition of 13 churches in the Santa Monica Area, and one space went to a member of the group Chabad Channukah Menorah. Churches are “crying conspiracy”. As I stated earlier, I feel that the spaces were assigned in a just manner and I therefore disagree that this is a conspiracy. It is simply a matter of luck of the draw. I believe that these atheist groups, because of “freedom of religion” have the right and the privilege of publicly celebrating the winter solstice, or anything else they choose to celebrate during the Holiday Season. However, I am uneasy about some of the things that the atheist groups have chosen to display in their allotted areas. The article specifically mentions these: "Religions are all alike — founded upon fables and mythologies. — Thomas Jefferson." and “a display with photographs depicting King Neptune, Jesus Christ, Santa Claus and Satan reads, "Million Americans know MYTHS when they see them. What myths do you see? American Atheists. Since 1963. athiests.org."’ I feel that these displays, instead of promoting the feelings of cheer and love that seem to surround the Holiday season seek to criticize those who share views that differ from the opinions of the American Atheists and other atheist groups. In “The Articles of Faith”, written by Joseph Smith and canonized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it states “We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” I believe that this privilege is not limited to those who believe in a god or practice a religion, but extends to those who do not believe in God and do not practice a religion. The article also discusses activism surrounding religion and mentions a man who previously displayed signs with “selections on U.S. Supreme Court decisions about the importance of separating church and state.” I agree that it is important that we keep church and state separate in order to protect our right to believe what we want to believe. But, I also think that it is important to remember that we are given freedom OF religion, which takes account of those who do not desire to practice a religion, but it does not mean freedom FROM religion. If there were freedom from religion, I, and many others would be denied the privilege of worshipping “how, what, or where, or what [I] may.” So this Holiday season, whether you prefer to display “Jesus is the reason for the season”, “The Miracle of the Oil that lasted Eight Days is the reason for the season”, “the Season is the reason for the season”, or any other reason you have to celebrate this season, I ask that we remember that the Holidays are a time of love, kindness, and charity, when we should not view each other as Christian, or Atheist, or Muslim, or Jewish, or Hindu, or Buddhist, or the array of other belief systems around the world, but as brothers and sisters of the human race.
See the article at: http://www.mail.com/news/us/909150-atheist-messages-displace-park-nativity-scenes.html#.7518-stage-
hero1-6
View "The Articles of Faith" at: http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,106-1-2-1,FF.html
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